Somewhere below where the Duke of York's head was displayed on a pike in 1461, and a thousand years above the remains of the Roman city of Eboracum, it occurred to me that we'd landed, literally, in the bowels of York.

We were standing atop Jorvik, an 11th century Viking village discovered in the 1970s buried beneath York's medieval center, while a docent in a tunic and a sinister-looking metal helmet explained the significance of a curious 7-inch brown blob.

"This is the largest and most valuable piece of fossilized feces ever found in the entire world," he announced with a reverence you might expect on a survey of the Crown Jewels. The enthralled throng of kids, my son included, crowded in for a closer look. Fascinated as I was by the sight of thousand-year-old Viking poop, I was glad this portion of the tour wasn't in smell-o-vision.

Part Danish Disneyland, part archaeological dig, Jorvik - like much of York, it turns out - is designed not just with kids in mind, but with a direct appeal to kids' mind-sets.

From the walkable medieval walls that ring the city and the hidden (and haunted) covered passages that crisscross its center to an interactive museum devoted entirely to chocolate, York gives London a run for its Minster as the most family friendly city in all of England. But unlike London, you can walk it in less time than it takes to find a cab at Heathrow.

On a recent trip with my husband and tween-age son, York started out as a stopover between London and Edinburgh, but quickly proved that it deserved more than a passing glance.

The Snickelways

Arriving in town at dinnertime, we made our way to the Dean Court Best Western with all the modest expectations that go along with a stay at a reasonably priced chain hotel (free breakfast! close to transportation!). Instead, our GPS led us closer and closer to the city's historic center, until the little checkered flag appeared literally over the top of York Minster Cathedral.

In the dining room that evening, as we dove into excellent lamb three ways, grilled hake (a cod-like white fish), and local sausages, we stared out at the 200-foot towers of majestic York Minster glowing golden in the setting sun. Any closer and we'd be sitting in a pew.

After dinner, we took advantage of lingering twilight to explore our neighborhood - a honeycomb maze of cobbled streets and secret passages, deliciously dubbed the Snickelways, that cut between buildings and through the gates (the York term for streets) of the old city.

Sporting storybook names like Mad Alice, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma, and the Shambles, the Snickelways are so tucked away that Barley Hall, a half-timbered house dating to 1360 that was once home to the Lord Mayor of York, was only discovered along tiny Stonegate in the 1980s.

Wandering these back streets was like being on a medieval scavenger hunt. Plaques posted along the stone walls revealed delightful historic tidbits: One led to a carved figure of Minerva leaning on a pile of books that marked the entrance to the old Bookbinders Alley; another pointed to meat hooks that line the overhanging storefronts along the Shambles, a restored 15th century shopping street once known as the Street of Butchers (the name refers to the sills where vendors displayed their wares). Doormat-size Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate didn't seem nearly as cute when we found out that its name hails from the stocks and whipping posts that once stood there.

The next morning, we fueled up on a lavish cooked-to-order English breakfast of eggs, rashers, potatoes, beans and grilled tomatoes before heading out to walk the fortress walls. Stretching nearly 3 miles, the walkway is the most complete example of medieval city walls still standing in England - a remarkable preservation feat even before you consider that it sits atop the remains of a ninth century wall erected by Vikings, which sits atop the original Roman wall built in A.D. 71.

We picked up the trail near the banks of the River Ouse, just past an A.D. 310 defense tower built by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. For my son, climbing through a fortress cut with archer slits and exploring dank dungeons would have been motivation enough, but York stacks the wall with all kinds of additional kid-friendly attractions.

Inside the stairwell, the City Walls Rubbing Trail invited us to reassemble four parts of a scattered ancient York map by taking a rubbing of each panel as we discovered it. Farther down at Micklegate Bar, one of four original entryways to the old city, a small museum detailed the colorful and gruesome history of the bar where all reigning monarchs stopped before entering York, and where dozens of traitors' heads were put on display-including that of Richard II, Duke of York in 1461. A re-creation of the event, complete with skulls and the duke's bloodied head, adds to the creepy allure.

Vikings and Kit Kats

Other bars along the wall have been renovated to accommodate cafes and pubs, with tables set on the battlements offering views through the crenellations. Stopping for ice cream, we surveyed the riverfront architecture - a pretty pastiche of medieval gray stone, Georgian red brick and imposing gothic structures - before heading over to explore York's earlier incarnation as a Viking stronghold.

Jorvik, the name the Norse gave the city in 876 following an invasion by the bloodthirsty Ivar the Boneless, has become one of the city's biggest tourist attractions. Discovered in 1976 when workers were excavating a new shopping center, the dig unearthed the vast and perfectly preserved remains of a thriving Viking settlement, complete with homes, workshops, and some 40,000 artifacts-among them the world's largest outhouse deposit.

Jorvik Viking Centre is squarely aimed at the short-attention-span set, replete with animatronic Vikings, talking holograms, costumed docents hammering coins and wielding battle-axes, and a Haunted Mansion-style ride that takes you on a tour - in full smell-o-vision - through the town's bedrooms, backyards, marketplaces, garbage heaps and even latrines. While some of it definitely borders on the cheesy, the archaeological remains, viewable through Plexiglas flooring, keep Jorvik from spilling into Velveeta territory.

Later, we dug deeper into the city's rich and redolent heritage at York's Chocolate Story, a multimedia attraction chronicling the city's famed confectioners: Rowntree, inventor of the Kit Kat bar, and Terry's, maker of the Chocolate Orange. Inventors' stories are brought to life through talking holograms and old newsreel footage of factory workers boxing chocolates, a la Lucy and Ethel. Along the way, there are chocolate-making demonstrations and of course, lots of samples.

Hopped up on ganache, we decided to walk it off on a twilight tour of the city's haunted past. Ghost tours these days seem to be as ubiquitous as gold-painted human statues and juggling unicyclists, but York's long legacy of murder and mayhem gives it an extra measure of street cred that even skeptical tweens can't dismiss. Specter sightings in York are so frequent, in fact, the International Ghost Research Foundation declared it Europe's most haunted city.

We met up with Original Ghost Walk guide Mark Graham under a streetlamp on the riverfront. Clad all in black, he gave off the doleful and unsettling air of a Victorian undertaker. Graham has been weaving tales of murder, revenge, tragic accidents, orphanage fires and love gone horribly wrong for more than 30 years.

Outside 13th century Clifford's Tower, we learned of the tragic fate of namesake Roger de Clifford, who in 1322 was left hanging in a cage outside the tower for a year and a day and whose spirit is said to haunt it to this day.

Under the leering gargoyles of Minster Cathedral, Graham recounted York's most famous ghost story, the vision of plumber Harry Martindale. In 1953, while working in the cellar of the Minster Treasurer's House, Martindale claimed he saw a group of downtrodden Roman soldiers emerge through the brick wall marching on their knees. He was labeled a loony until two years later, when archaeologists discovered a massive Roman road buried 15 inches below the cathedral floor (artifacts from the excavation are now on display in the Minster crypt).

Hands-on history

Our venture to the Castle Museum the next day proved that "history museum" and "kids" don't always lead to "endless whining" and "gift shop." Housed inside an 18th century debtors' prison, the museum is a showcase for the collection of founder Dr. John Kirk, who amassed thousands of items from York households over the years. The centerpiece is a meticulously reconstructed Victorian street with original gas lamps, carriages, and shops and homes filled with fascinating vintage objects - all of which you can pick up and play with.

After strolling the streets of "Kirkgate," we headed downstairs to investigate the old jail, where an exhibit documents the plight of inmates such as Elizabeth Boardingham, the last woman to be burned at the stake in Yorkshire in 1776. Inside the cells, we traced our fingers over graffiti carved by prisoners more than two centuries ago.

Next stop was iconic York Minster Cathedral. Built between 1220 and 1472, it's the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe (at 230 feet, its central tower is nearly 10 feet taller than Westminster Abbey's), boasting one of the most spectacular displays of medieval stained glass in the world.

After a fun and informative self-guided audio tour (for younger kids, there are also free backpacks stocked with torches, magnifying glasses and other goodies), we climbed 275 steps to the top of the tower, where we were rewarded with sweeping views over the chimneys, rooftops and spires of the city that stretched all the way to the Yorkshire dales and beyond.

We emerged back onto the square just as the shiny steam-engine shuttle for the National Railway Museum pulled up to the corner. Given that the museum's only a 10-minute walk from here, a tram ride seemed a bit gratuitous until I saw the grateful smiles of parents piling their tired, Thomas-obsessed toddlers aboard. Just one more way York sees its grown-up city from a kid's-eye view.

If you go

GETTING THERE

British Airways, KLM and Air France all have connecting flights from London to Leeds-Bradford Airport, 31 miles from York. Regular trains run between London and York, a two-hour trip.

WHERE TO STAY

Best Western Plus Dean Court Hotel: Duncombe Place, +44 (0)1904 625082, www.deancourt-york.co.uk. A big step above your average Best Western, housed in a stately brick building opposite York Minster, once dwellings for Minster clergy. From $265/night, with full breakfast.

Grange Hotel: 1 Clifton, +44 (0)1904 644744, www.grangehotel.co.uk. Chic 1830s town house with 36 rooms and a well-rated restaurant, five minutes from town center. From $180/night, including breakfast.

MORE INFORMATION

York Pass: In terms of value, city passes can be a mixed bag, but York's is worth it. A two-day pass (adults $80, kids 5-16 $40) grants free admission to all the major attractions, including York Minster, Jorvik, Chocolate Story, and the Castle Museum. Available from the visitor information center, 1 Museum St., 1904 550099, or at www.yorkpass.com.